Observations: Notre Dame survives scare against Boston College in overtime, 99-95
It counts like any other win.
But it sure didn’t feel like recent ones.
Notre Dame needed overtime to squeeze past Boston College 99-95 Wednesday night in a game the Irish couldn’t afford to lose. In winning it, they surely set off heart rate monitor alerts in Purcell Pavilion and in living rooms across America. An afterthought game for fans against a perennial ACC bottomfeeder turned into an extra-alarm fire.
There were moments where defeat felt likely – none more so than when Boston College took an 80-75 lead with 3:52 left.
“Could have broken our spirit a couple times,” head coach Mike Brey said.
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Not this year. Not for this group that has found a way in winning time. They did again Wednesday, outscoring Boston College 13-9 in overtime.
Notre Dame (19-7, 12-3 ACC) remains tied for first place in the ACC with Duke. The Irish shot 49.2 percent from the floor, 38.1 percent from three-point range and averaged 1.34 points per possession. They were 33-of-39 from the foul line, both season-highs. Guard Dane Goodwin had a team-high and season-best 23 points.
Boston College (9-15, 4-10) shot 56.3 percent overall and 43.5 percent on threes.
Here are three observations from the game.
1. Uncharacteristic defense
On paper, Notre Dame’s defense vs. Boston College’s offense was an obvious strength-on-weakness matchup. The Irish came into the game having held seven straight opponents to 65 or fewer points. The Eagles, meanwhile, had the lowest effective field goal percentage (43.4) and three-point percentage (26.6) of any ACC team in league play. They were second-worst in two-point percentage (45.1)
So, what in the world was that?
Boston College’s guards drove right at Notre Dame’s usually stingy zone defense and forced the Irish to scrap it about 10 minutes into the game. Their man-to-man defense fared no better in the first half. Boston College found ways to exploit switches and attack mismatches. Forward Nate Laszewski, still nursing a lower leg contusion, twice found himself switched onto a guard late in the first half and allowed a layup.
All told, one of the ACC’s worst offenses hung 43 points in the first half on 60.7 percent shooting on the defense at the root of Notre Dame’s in-season turnaround.
“We weren’t really being active on the defensive end,” guard Prentiss Hubb said.
Even with some better defensive possessions, Boston College still poured in points. The Eagles made open shots and contested ones, rarely encountering a swoon. The Irish mainly stuck with their man defense in the second half. The energy was better, but lapses were still frequent enough – whether that was struggling to contain dribble drives or not getting a hand up on a shooter.
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For much of the first 30 minutes, guard Brevin Galloway needled the Irish defense. He made open threes and guarded ones. Notre Dame stuck Hubb on him, though, and told him not to leave his hip. Hubb obliged and helped hold Galloway scoreless in the final 15 minutes. Galloway took just two shots in that stretch.
“Prentiss has really improved defensively,” Brey said. “Get up, get in and make [Galloway] drive it. He was really disciplined and the guy I thought we could rely on the most to take him away in the last couple minutes.”
2. Dane Goodwin first, Prentiss Hubb late
Notre Dame’s leaky defense would have buried it if not for a certain All-ACC selection playing like one. In an unwanted track meet, Goodwin ensured the Irish kept pace early on.
Goodwin began with two three-pointers and a baseline drive layup. His aggressiveness off the dribble was as pronounced as any other game this year. His 18 first-half points alone tied for his fourth-highest total this season.
Like Notre Dame with Galloway, Boston College dialed on him. He attempted two field goals in the final 23 minutes.
Who did Notre Dame turn to with Goodwin held in check? Hubb, the senior guard Brey calls his “quarterback.” He awoke from a scoreless first half to put up 12 points in the final 25 minutes. It started with two layups in ball screen situations.
The degree of difficulty rose from there, but Hubb still made most of them. His off-the-dribble three-pointer gave Notre Dame a 61-60 lead with 11:22 left. And in overtime, his spinning turnaround layup off the glass pushed the Irish’s advantage to three points with 10 seconds to go. He went 4-of-4 from the free throw line after that, with an intercepted inbound pass in between those trips.
“All I know is I want him in there,” Brey said. “After a tough start, he’s in total control of this group.”
3. Frequent foul line visitors
Lethargic defense was a break in character.
So too was Notre Dame’s activity in the paint and at the foul line – but in a good way. The Irish lived at the foul line, and Boston College was happy to put them there.
Five Notre Dame players drew at least four fouls. Forward Paul Atkinson Jr. coaxed a team-high eight. He and forward Nate Laszewski were largely responsible for fouling out three Boston College forwards and combined to take 16 free throws. The third Eagles forward, little-used freshman Gianni Thompson, committed five fouls in 12 minutes. Three of those were on Atkinson post touches or rebounds. The guards pitched in too. Blake Wesley was 5-of-8 at the foul line and slithered through Boston College’s defense in the second half. Four Irish players took at least five free throws.
